Switching from Bottle to Sippy Cup.

My oldest daughter will soon be 40 and when I was trying to switch her to a sippy cup, I used it for juice etc. The bottle only was for milk. She soon discovered that the boring stuff was in the bottle and the "fun" stuff was in the cup. And I had 3 daughters and used it for all of them. Also all of the grandchildren were brought up the same way.

If its the sippy cup with the 1 way valve, take it out. Take the valve out so that the milk comes out easily and he notices that milk is in there. That is what I did and before long you can put the valve back in. Also, try the ones with a softer tip at first.

B.,
Since your son is 1 will you be switching to cows milk? If you are (and that's between you and your doctor) I wouldnt put the cows milk in a bottle, just a sippy cup. Also, it took my son a while to get the hang of a sippy. I worked backwords. I'd put a large, "waterproof" bib ( non are LOL) and take the one way valve out so is was the "fast flow" sippy with just an ounce ot two of drink...then could get someting to drink. Then slowly I put the valves back in, so it'd be less messy. Now he's a pro. Some of those sippys are difficult to get any liquid from. Try the ones you have...yes I mean you take a drink from it. If it is hard for you its probably hard for him and frustrating. Another thing...unless the child is ill...they will not starve by choice...I know I am a mother of an almost one year old, but I've been a nanny and a primary provider for almost 10 years. Kids love to eat.
Good luck with the sippys!

Buy a Nuby, It comes in a soft spout my child loved it! you can find them at Walmart or Target and they are not that expensive plus they don't leak.
Hope that works for you.

I am a mother of an almost 2 year old girl.

Hi,
I bought my son the cups that had the rubber top instead of the hard plastic and he took to them immediately. I never put the formula in them, I just instantly started with milk. Whatever you decide, just be consistant with him. He'll get the idea after you constantly do it.
Good luck!!
M.

Cold turkey. Just like the binky, you will thank yourself. The withdrawal wont last long, and he will eat, trust me he will eat.

From L., mother of 3 (1, 3, & 9)

hi i would get the Nuby sippy cup. they have one that has like 2 or 3 different nipples. one is like a bottle nipple you could use that at first so he gets used to the actual sippy cup then you can switch it over to the sippy cup type nipple. My son took a couple of weeks past his first birthday to get used to it. he would drink from the cup except his formula he kept wanting that in the bottle but finally he switched over, and now that he can have cows milk it should be easier also. hope this helps.

Hi there B.. I have a 15 month old daughter who does the exact same thing. I have tried Nuby, Playtex, and the normal regular cups with lids. She still won't do it. She is getting better however. But ayways her doctor told me to put water in her bottles. No more milk in them. And if she wants the bottle for the bottle she will drink the water. But I know she doesn't because ever since I switched her to milk she only takes 1 1/2 bottles. But he said she will eventually take the milk from a cup and he said not to worry if she stops drinking milk for a couple of months. He said that is completely normal and it is ok. Just make sure to fill in the gap with extra dairy products that are high in calcium. So I am just going to keep trying to get her to take the cup and hopefully it takes soon. He said just to basically do it cold turkey and I would win the fight. So I hope this helps. Good Luck!

I had a really hard time getting my 10 month old to take a sippy cup. I started with trying the Avent Magic cup because those are the brand of bottles we used, but she just used the spout as a teether and couldn't really figure out that she was supposed to drink from it.
I read a lot on this subject through this forum, and so many moms suggested the Nuby. I ran out and bought a couple and that day - no more bottles! We love the Nuby! If you haven't tried them yet, I'd try that.

I had the same trouble with my now 5 yr old. My son (now 9) was easier; he just took the cup I offered at 11 months. So, I asked the ped about it and he said to do it cold turkey and in about 3 days, she'll take the cup. Well, she did, but she cried every day for about 7 days. After the first day, she did realize that she was going to have to take the cup in order to get a drink, but she still cried about it. It was nerve racking, but if you hold your ground, it does work.

This is just a little bump in the big picture. You'll look back and chuckle at the time you spet trying to get him to drink from a cup. Not to minimize your concern, don't get me wrong. But just be consistent and keep offering the cup, he'll get it eventually. There is no magic about being 1 year old, though, maybe give him a little more time. We offered cups only at meals, no bottles...and then one bottle of formula before bedtime. He finally just gave it up on his own. Good luck and be patient, it will happen!
~L.

B.,
Congrats on his bday while other moms may disagree with me this is one of thsoe things I don't sweat. My kids all rid the bottle or breast at different stages and ages and I never get hung up on the "I am supposed to di this now thing" my 15 months old will not take milk, only formula and only in a bottle, my peds thankfully is not worried either and I know she won't go to kindergarten sucking on it, lol. Heck if I were still breastfeeding her no one would think twice about that I hope so how bad can this be? She also has a binky at night in her crib...no worries there either for me.I guess my best advice is also try maybe one more cup, I too have a graveyard of sippies rejected in my kitchen but the Nuby that has the long spout like a 1 inch one I bought at Walmart and my toddlers both took it easily. good luck
E.

With both of my children I used the small 2 handled Gerber cups with the rubber top. They worked out great!! I babysit 3 children and each have used the Nuby brand. Both sets of parents have since switched to the Gerber ones due to the fact that the child would not give up the bottle since the cup was alot like one. My son was 10 months old and he cold turkey'd it over a weekend...all on his own. My daughter had to be weened off the bottle. I took one bottle away a week. Start with an afternoon one and end with the before bedtime one. I would assume that you are also switching to milk as well...this trick works wonders for theat switch as well.
Best of luck!!

I had an easy time with my son....once I found the right cup. Try several, different kids have different preferences. I also found the smaller ones worked better when he was that young. They aren't so heavy and awkward to hold. I never put formula in a cup, and never put milk or juice in a bottle. My son liked the taste of regular milk so much that he was happy taking a cup to get some.

and start with the cup at a happy time of day. Not first thing in the morning, not last before bed. Lunch is a good one.

C., Battle Creek

Switching from the bottle to the sippy cup is a big deal for our little ones...my doctor told me it is more work at first for them to use a sippy cup because it is a different motion/tongue position then they are used to, but if can get rid of the binky then this shouldn't be so hard.

With all 3 of my children I started giving them juice in their cups at about 6 months - since juice is sweet I figured it would be more of an incentive and when they turned 1 the bottles were gone and then they got everything in a sippy cup. it was a bit of a transition, but no one starved. :-) I think it helped that I started the sippy cup earlier.

I am not sure how long you have been giving your son a sippy cup - if you started earlier, like I did, then I would suggest trying it cold turkey. If he hasn't had that much experience with the cup, then I would suggest trying putting his juice in it and gradually putting his milk in it as well and after a few months or sooner if you feel he is ready, then going cold turkey.

Good luck ~

Actually, I'm going thru this right now with my 10 1/2 month old daughter. My son was off the bottle by 11 months and I wanted to get my daughter off also. I had to try a few different cups (most of which she used as a chew toy) I found the gerber one with the rubbery top works for her. She's finally got the hang of it and as of yesterday hasn't had a bottle!! I know there is no rush..but honestly I'm sick of bottles..lol! I use the playtex vent air bottles that have 4 parts to them..it gets old!! It took her a few weeks of working on it to get the hang of drinking out of it, but I think we got it down now! My ped recommended slowly phasing out the bottle, put 1 oz in the sippy and 5oz in the bottle. Do that for a week then up the amount in the sippy and lower the amouont in the bottle. Good luck to you!!

Our son never took to sippy cups. He's 21 months old now and still won't do sippy cup. I think it was too hard for him to hold up when he was younger. I see kids using them all over the place, so it doesn't seem like an issue for them. He took to a Nuby (I found it at Walmart) which is a cup with a screw on lid that has a plastic flexible straw at the top which flips down. I think Nuby also has the regular sippy cups. The Nuby (straw cup) is a bit of a pain to disassemble and reassemble at first, but you can become a pro at it quite quickly. He also took to the plain old plastic cups with the lids and straws that you can get at Target or Babies R Us in a five pack. We worked our way up to eliminating the bottle, and he took to it quite well. He was a little over a year old at the time. It depends on the baby though.

Best of luck!!

My son did the same thing, although mine wouldn't even take a bottle. I found that the Nu^by brand was the best for him to start with. They have a really soft spout that is very easy to suck on. After he got the hang of that I switched to Playtex’s soft spout which is semi hard and semi soft, after that we have moved on to the really hard ones and he is doing great with those.
Good Luck!

Have you tried the Nuby cups? They are the most similar to bottles and have a flexible tip. I thought they were the best. Sippy cups are actually really really hard to drink out of (have you tried?). I just took the bottle away at 1 and gave my son sippy cups- mostly the Nuby. I was sure he could drink out of them. After a few days he stopped fussing. As long as you are confident he can actually drink out of the sippy cup/Nuby if he wants to- I would go cold turkey. He will drink if he is hungry/thirsty.

HI
when switchig my son to the sippy cup I used a cup called nuby it has a very soft nub and worked great for him.